Did ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Reveal That Two Captain America’s Exist In The MCU?

Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame was a major success in the box office, both in terms of financial earnings and critical reviews, but the movie is not without its share of plot holes. Most of these issues stem from the introduction of time travel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a move that left fans with a lot of questions as we enter Phase 4. One of the biggest unknowns surrounds Captain America (Chris Evans), who choose to stay in the past after returning the Infinity Stones to their original locations.

Captain America Chris Evans | Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

One confusing element to Cap’s storyline is whether or not he created a new timeline when he remained in the past. Some fans believe that he did not create another timeline and that there are now two versions of Steve Rogers in the MCU. The film, unfortunately, does not address what happened to Captain America at the end of the movie. So what do Endgame writers think about the theories?

‘Endgame’ writers open up about Captain America’s story arc

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely wrote the script to Endgame and had to figure out all of the
potential consequences of introducing time travel to the story. The two hosted
a panel at Comic-Con International this year, where they talked about the
project and shared interesting behind-the-scenes stories. According to We
Got This Covered, Markus and McFeely did not fully address what happened to
Steve when he stayed in the past, but they are aware that there might be two Captain
Americas in the MCU.

The writers may have remained silent on the issue because they
did not want to spoil any future surprises. Marvel is getting ready to release
a television series, Falcon and Winter
Soldier, which could shed more light on Cap’s ending. The studio is also
expected to release another Avengers
movie at some point, which could also explore what happened to Steve after he
returned the stones.

‘Endgame’ directors dish on Cap’s ending

While Markus and McFeely have been relatively mum on the topic, Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo
recently opened up about what happened to Captain America in the past. The
Russo brothers explained how Steve created a new timeline after traveling back
in time. The only reason he returned to 2023 was to give Falcon his shield. That
means during most of Cap’s life, the other version of himself was frozen in
ice.

So there are technically two Captain Americas at one point, but
only one was active at a given time. This, of course, does not answer all of
the questions we have about Steve, but it does offer some clarity on his story.

Avengers: Endgame cast talks about Chris Evans and how well he portrayed Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe pic.twitter.com/dGjqxfyDmj

“The way that it would work is that when Captain America
goes back, he would create a branch reality. Now he would exist in that branch
reality with a second Captain America who was frozen in ice…” Russo shared.

The directors added that Cap used another Pym Particle to return
to the original timeline at the conclusion of Endgame. They also teased that what happened to Captain America
after he returned the stones could be explored in a future project. If that
happens, then we might get one last chance to see Evans reprise his role as the
iconic hero, though it would probably be a long time before that becomes a
reality.

Russo brothers tease dark Captain America scene

Time travel holes aside, the Russo brothers also talked about a
super dark Captain America scene that was almost included in Endgame. The scene involved Thanos from
2014 traveling into the future to taunt the Avengers in 2023. The concept would
have shown Thanos tossing a severed head at the feat of Captain America. When
Cap picked up the head, he would have discovered that it was his own
dismembered body part, complete with his iconic helmet. The only reason they
did not move forward with the idea is that they could not figure out where to
go next.

This was my favourite part of the feature. Basically, why Chris was made for this role.

Other scenes that were tossed around included a corpse of
Giant-Man (Paul Rudd) hanging out in the background of the final battle scene.
This would have been a callback to the comic-book story, Old Man Logan, which
featured similar storylines.

Fans can relive all of their favorite moments from Avengers: Endgame when it is released on
Blu-ray August 13.